The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas - Baseball pushed ahead with two major international initiatives Wednesday, shifting 22 of Montreal's home games next year to Puerto Rico and moving a season-opening series between Seattle and Oakland to Japan.

Seeking to increase revenue from the Expos, who are among the worst draws in the major leagues, baseball announced plans to play three homestands covering seven series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

Commissioner Bud Selig also appointed a committee, filled with many of his closest advisers, to find a permanent solution for the Expos, who were purchased by the other 29 teams before last season and are operated by the commissioner's office.

Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C., are among the possible bidders. No team has moved since the expansion Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.

"They need to be in a different market," Rangers owner Tom Hicks said of the Expos. "At the right time, they need to be relocated."

Subject to negotiations with the players' association, the Expos would play a 10-game homestand in San Juan in April, with games against the New York Mets (April 11-14), Atlanta (April 15-17) and the Reds (April 18-20).

The second homestand would include World Series champion Anaheim (June 3-5) and Texas (June 6-8), and the last would have Florida (Sept. 5-7) and the Chicago Cubs (Sept. 9-11).

San Juan was the host for baseball's 2001 season opener between Texas and Toronto.

Expos president Tony Tavares said that with the guaranteed income from the games in San Juan, where the ballpark capacity is about 19,800, his team will not have to conduct a "fire sale" of players such as Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon.

REDS: The Reds signed high school pitcher Camilo Vazquez to a contract Wednesday.

The Reds selected Vazquez in the fourth round of the amateur draft last June.

Vazquez, a left-hander, led Hialeah High School to Florida's big-school championship each of the last two years. He went 12-0 with a 1.23 ERA last season.

TASK FORCE: A special marketing task force was formed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday following a season that saw drops in regular-season attendance and World Series television ratings.

Selig is calling the task force "Major league baseball in the 21st century" and said he will include people from marketing, advertising, the media and academia.

"We need to do it after three or four decades of, quite frankly, not doing it," Selig said.

PHILLIES: Free-agent third basemen David Bell was spending his third night in Philadelphia on Wednesday while agent Tom Reich and the Phillies continued negotiations on a contract.

Bell, who helped the San Francisco Giants reach the World Series, hit .261 with 20 homers and 73 RBI.

The Phillies reportedly have offered a three-year deal worth $13 million.

BREWERS: Former slugger Cecil Cooper was hired Wednesday as manager of the Indianapolis Indians, Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate.

The 52-year-old Cooper was the Brewers bench coach last season and interviewed for the managerial job that went to Ned Yost.

CUBS: Chicago treated free agent Jim Thome to lunch on Wednesday, hoping they can entice the first baseman to stick around for the next few years.

Thome, the most coveted slugger in this winter's free agent market, and his agent, Pat Rooney, met with general manager Jim Hendry at Wrigley Field.

"It was a good visit," Hendry said.

ROCKIES: Top team officials met for more than three hours with Matt Williams and his agent Wednesday to try to persuade the third baseman to accept a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The teams have agreed to a deal that would send Larry Walker to Arizona for Williams and three other players. But both Walker and Williams must waive no-trade clauses by midday Friday.